“Isn’t she amazing?” Krista murmured, as the nurse set the baby in her arms.
“Did you decide on a name?”
“The last time I Skyped with Kenji, he said he likes the name Naomi.”
“That’s pretty.”
Tiredly, she nodded, tracing the baby’s tiny features with a fingertip. “Would you mind calling my mom in? She’s still here, right?”
Since I hadn’t been out of the room in five hours, I couldn’t be sure. “Be right back.”
Janet was asleep in the waiting room down the hall, so I woke her up with a gentle hand on the shoulder. “Your granddaughter’s finally here. Ready to meet her?”
“Oh, Jesus, finally.” Her spine popped as she staggered to her feet.
I steadied her and followed her back down the hall. Krista was sweaty and tired, but she beamed when she spotted her mom. “I did it. No epidural, no episiotomy.”
“Oh, honey, it would’ve hurt a lot less with pain meds.”
“If there’s a next time, I’ll try it that way. I just wanted to know if I could, that’s all.”
“You’re braver than me,” I said around a jaw-cracking yawn.
“You must be dying for some food and a nap,” Janet said. “I’ve had a whole pot of coffee on my own, so I can take it from here, if—”
“Thanks for everything,” Krista cut in.
“If you’re sure, I could use some sleep. I’ll come back tomorrow during visiting hours.” Luckily it was Sunday, so maybe I could get enough sleep so I wouldn’t be a wreck for work on Monday morning.
“Does Naomi need anything particular?” Krista hadn’t wanted a shower because she thought it was better to wait until the baby was born. That way she could be sure she didn’t end up with a ton of pink stuff for a surprise boy on the off-chance the ultrasound was wrong.
“We’ll have the baby shower when I get home,” she said with a grin. “I know, I do everything backward. Baby before wedding, shower after childbirth.”
Shrugging, I dismissed the idea that there was a right way to live. “I’m so happy for you. I bet you can’t wait to see Kenji and show him her little face.”
She sighed softly. “I can’t wait for him to come home.”
“How much longer?”
“Ten months or so. Give or take.”
Bending down, I kissed her cheek and touched the top of baby Naomi’s pink hat. Then Janet hugged me and I stumbled out of the room. Though I couldn’t put my finger on it, that experience changed me. Maybe it would sound stupid if I said it out loud—and shit, Krista would laugh at me—but what I’d just seen was...inspiring. Krista was now essentially a single mom, but she wasn’t panicking, even though the guy she loved was across the world. It made my problems seem small by comparison.
More to the point, her faith resonated in me, making me want to be stronger, better—and to believe in happy endings, even if I’d never really seen any. If my mom could take another crack at one, maybe I could stop seeing the world as such a dark place. Wearily, I climbed into my Civic and looked at the time.
Not quite five.
My eyes burned, and I had a headache clamping around my temples, a combination of exhaustion and lack of caffeine. The obvious solution to both those problems? Crawl into bed; don’t get up until tomorrow. Instead, I drove to Rob’s. At some point—and without my realizing it—he’d become my home, not the house I grew up in. And right now, for reasons I couldn’t articulate, I really needed to see him. There was a tightness in my chest like something terrible had happened, only it wasn’t that way at all. Could be the fatigue, but I felt like crying for no reason, and I didn’t want to do it alone.
I texted, Krista had her baby. Be there in ten minutes.
Rob: im here.
As the dusk pooled in purple shadows between the trees, Rob opened the door as I pulled into the drive. He was waiting in a pool of golden light, arms opening to pull me in before I even realized how bad I needed it. I love you, Rob. I love you so fucking much. Throat clotted with too much emotion, I turned my cheek against his chest, eyes closing.
“How’s Krista? Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah, they’re both fine. She had a little girl, and I think they’re naming her Naomi.” Seeming relieved, he cupped the back of my head in his big hands and went to work on the knots at the base of my skull. I nearly melted into a puddle. “Thanks.”
“And how are you? You look beat.”
“I am. But I wanted you more than sleep.”
His smile was like sunrise over the ocean, banishing all shadows and bathing me in a gorgeous shimmer of blue and gold. “I’m glad you came.”
Taking a second look, he seemed exhausted, too. “What’s up?”
He hesitated before admitting, “My folks talked to Nadia this week. About Dad.”
That must be why his parents wanted him to come over.
“How did she take it?” God, I was turning into such a shitty long-distance friend, like out of sight meant out of mind. I’d lost contact with Krista when she moved, too. Though we’d been emailing regularly, Nadia and I needed some face-to-face time soon.
“Well enough, I hear. I guess, based on how they started the Serious Talk, she thought he was dying of cancer, so Parkinson’s didn’t seem as bad.”
“I’ll call her.”
“Okay,” he said. “Come on, I’ll make something to eat.”
I shook my head, arms tightening on his waist. “Can we stay like this for a bit longer?”
“As long as you want,” he promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And like an idiot, I believed him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
In early June, I started my online classes.
The lack of classroom attendance made it much easier for me to focus, and as I’d hoped, the day job didn’t offer enough stress for me to worry about work when I wasn’t at the car lot. I got a sympathy bouquet from one of the office ladies, and when I gazed at her blankly, she dropped her eyes. I had no idea what this was about, until she touched me gently on the arm.
“I’m friends with Avery Jacobs’s mother,” she whispered. “I know. Avery mentioned it to Margaret, and she knows I work with you...I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Oh.
I felt even worse, but since I made up that story and Rob came in, Davies had been the most professional butthead in the world. “These are beautiful. But if it’s all right, I’d rather not talk about it.”